College Football

LSU head coach Brian Kelly waiting to announce QB

Updated Aug. 29, 2022 6:29 p.m. ET

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LSU has held a quarterback competition throughout the offseason, but don't expect any news soon. 

Coach Brian Kelly said Monday he'll wait until the team's season opener against Florida State on Sunday to name the starting quarterback, citing the wait as a "tactical advantage."

Arizona State transfer and senior Jayden Daniels and sophomore Garrett Nussmeier are the favorites to start at QB for LSU this season. Kelly said he sees similarities in the two quarterbacks' skill sets and envisions them both contributing in 2022.

"There's some great similarities between the two of them in terms of what they're able to do," Kelly said. "They both run extremely well. They both can make plays outside the pocket. And certainly we don't have to change the playcalling. There's not a dramatic difference between the two when it comes to playcalling.

"So you can imagine that when we're talking about both quarterbacks, this is a 1A and 1B. This is not a one and a two. And both of them are obviously going to contribute this year."

Daniels was Arizona State's primary quarterback from 2019-21. He finished last season with 2,381 passing yards, 10 passing touchdowns, 10 interceptions and a 136.2 quarterback rating, completing 65.4% of his throws. Daniels also logged 710 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.

Nussmeier appeared in four games for LSU last season. He totaled 329 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, two interceptions and a 103.9 quarterback rating, completing 50.9% of his throws. 

LSU's quarterback battle was whittled down after Myles Brennan, who began as the team's starter in 2020 and had been with the program since 2017, announced his retirement from college football. Max Johnson, the team's starting quarterback in 2021, transferred to Texas A&M.

LSU is coming off a 6-7 season (3-5 in SEC play). The Tigers parted ways with coach Ed Orgeron after six seasons, a run which included winning the 2019 national championship with a 15-0 record.

Kelly comes to LSU after spending the past 12 seasons as Notre Dame's head coach.

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